In hydraulic control systems or "pods" such as those used in operating onshore as well as offshore or subsea well head apparatus and blowout preventer stacks, it is necessary to provide releasable hydraulic line connections between each one of a plurality of hydraulic hoses in a hose bundle and a certain control passage or port that communicates with an instrumentality, such as a valve actuator or the like, whereby the various components of the wellhead can be remotely controlled or their respective positions indicated. Such connections typically are mounted on junction plates and include male and female fittings that can be brought together to provide what desirably are leak-tight connections between the various hoses and passages. A known system employs O-ring seals on the male connector members that seal within the bores of the female members to effect the sealed connections. Another type of system uses O-ring seals that are positioned in grooves in the female members.
However such prior systems have a number of disadvantages. For example, only a small amount of radial misalignment can be accommodated because the male and female fittings must mate coaxially within very close tolerances. The planar surfaces on which the respective male and female fittings are mounted must be substantially parallel, or else axial alignment of the fitting members will not be achieved on make-up. Seal surface roughness can not be tolerated. Adjustments must be provided to minimize any height deviations where multiple connectors are "ganged" on a common support plate. The machining tolerances that must be held in the manufacture of such prior systems have not allowed economic production. Of course O-ring seals are subject to damage due to pinching and extrusion, and are subject to blow-out when a fitting assembly is disconnected under pressure.
The general object of the present invention is to provide a new and improved seal structure that overcomes the foregoing disadvantages of prior systems.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a new and improved metal-to-metal face seal construction that will accommodate a degree of radial misalignment and still effect a leak-proof seal.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a new and improved metal-to-metal face seal apparatus that will accommodate a lack of precise parallelism of companion seal surfaces and still effect a leak-proof seal.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a new and improved face seal of the type described that is tolerant of surface roughness and which does not require special coating or plating on seal or seat surfaces.
Still another object of the present invention is to provide a new and improved metal-to-metal face seal structure that is tolerant of height deviations when multiple connectors are gauged on a common support plate.
Yet another object of the present invention is to provide a new and improved seal structure that can be manufactured from standard materials with standard machine shop equipment, and in an economic manner.